


These Little Wonders

by HallsofStone2941



Series: Crazy Life [4]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dwalin Is A Softie, Family, Fluff, Light Angst, Mentioned Bungo Baggins/Belladonna Took, Mentioned/Implied Relationships, Minor Character Death, Multi, Not Beta Read, references to drowning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-06
Updated: 2014-07-06
Packaged: 2018-02-07 15:39:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1904499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HallsofStone2941/pseuds/HallsofStone2941
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three years after Balin and Dwalin accepted Belle into their lives, they find out her true name.</p>
<p>They stick with "Belle", anyway.</p>
<p>Direct sequel to "I Won't Let You Fall"</p>
            </blockquote>





	These Little Wonders

**Author's Note:**

> This is a very short transition one shot with some filler information for the other fics. It probably will not make sense without reading "I Won't Let You Fall", the second part of the series.

They do not learn Belle's real name until she finds an old newspaper and stares at it, spoon halfway to her mouth. Enough time passes as she sits there for Balin and Dwalin to become worried, and they crowd together behind her.

"Couple Dies in Freak Boating Accident", the headline reads. Dwalin recognizes the paper as one of the many that found a home in the attic - his mother had had a habit of saving newspapers "for future generations".

"Belle?" Balin asks softly. She blinks and moves again, placing her spoon in her cereal bowl and grasping the paper with both hands. Her eyes move back and forth, scanning the paper quickly. Finally, she holds it up behind her, offering it to her brothers.

Dwalin eyes the article. _In a freak boating accident on Friday, February 25th, married couple Bungo and Belladonna Baggins perished. The police stated that...The couple were enjoying a day on the lake...their only daughter, Beatrix, age eight, witnessed the boat capsize and ran for help when her parents did not immediately surface...a full investigation shows that no sabotage was involved, though questions still arise...the girl will be living with her family..._ Nothing in the article indicates Belle's reaction - at least, until he looks at the year.

The paper is dated only four months before his parents' funeral - four months before they found Belle.

"Beatrix?" Balin asks gently. Belle - Beatrix - hesitates.

"I...I like Belle better." She turns around, eyes large as she stares at them. Balin eases himself into a chair, and Dwalin does the same.

"What happened Belle? Where is your family?"

Still alive, according to Beatrix Baggins. They took the house, and the inheritance, and they left Belle to fend for herself; to make her own food, get herself to school, sleep at the appropriate time, and bathe herself, all while trying to deal with grief, a new and crippling emotion. Eventually, Belle went to school one day and decided not to come back. She found a home of sorts with the homeless in her town, but they could barely take care of themselves, much less a little girl. She wandered by herself more and more, until her hunger made her cry out, right when Balin and Dwalin were passing by her alleyway.

Dwalin bristles with anger - that people, her family, no less, would leave such a small, adorable girl on her own makes his blood boil. His hand falls on her shoulder, rubbing soothingly; the action reveals none of the anger he feels. He is still not good with words, and probably never will be, but their relationship was founded on wordless comfort, and that comfort now grounds her more than his words can.

*****

Belle remains Belle (Belle Durin, when a last name is needed). They decide not to change her school or medical records - why would they? The Bagginses are gone, and a small amount of research shows that their wealth is, too. Belle is happy with Balin and Dwalin; she is happy to bear the Durin name, and happy to call them her brothers.

So she goes back to her homework, finishing her creative essay for Mr. Olson (everyone calls him Ori). Two years of school have only increased her love of learning, rather than curbed it, and she expresses a desire to teach others, once she grows up. Balin and Dwalin believe she will be a great teacher.

Their three years together have change many things. Belle talks regularly - in fact, she has demonstrated a quick wit and sharp tongue that even Balin struggles to keep up with. While she sharpens her mind in school, Dwalin learns under the tutelage of the best tattoo artist in the state (the same one, in fact, that gave him the dancing image of Beauty and the Beast on his forearm), and Balin works his desk job while taking night classes at the local community college.

The brothers have benefitted from their surrogate sister's presence. They are quicker to smile and laugh, even if only in the privacy of their own home. They are more optimistic, less likely to look at each day as full of potential difficulties and more likely to look at them as potential moments of joy. With the Associate's Degree that Balin is schooling towards, he can become a company adviser, like his father before him. Dwalin's teacher seems prepared to hand over the shop once Dwalin has completed his training. And Belle? Belle will literally drag either brother outside by his ears and spray him with water if he begins to sulk. Life is never perfect, and the future is probably loaded with dangerous traps, but for once, Dwalin feels as if he is prepared to handle them. And that, in his opinion, is the definition of a good life.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: "Beatrix" actually means "adventurer, voyager", which does not fit this story but is a nice tie-in to canon.
> 
> Sountrack:  
> the wonderful song called "Little Wonders" by Rob Thomas, which is nice and uplifting without being to cheerful (because, let's face it, too much optimism leads to disappointment and it really does not fit Dwalin's personality)


End file.
